Tetrathiafulvalene- and dithiafulvalene-substitutes mesitylenes, new pi-donor molecules with 3-fold symmetry and the formation of an unprecedented new class of electroactive polymers

Four new mesitylene-anchored dithia- and tetrathiafulvenyl (DTF and TTF) pi-donors with threefold symmetry are synthesized and characterized by cyclic voltammetric, electrocyrstallization and X-ray methods. The studies show that Ph(DTF)3 oxidizes into an electroactive polymer while its methyl derivative does not. For the TTF derivatives, each redox unit behaves independently and cation radical salts can be grown electrochemically thereon. The empirical results are supported by molecular orbital calculations.